Ahh, the good old days. You know you are approaching old fartdom when you find yourself saying that very often! But really, what I am referring to is when I first discovered the DN. When I started sailing on ice, it was all about racing, and that was a good thing. It caused togetherness, competition, and fun. I must also add that racing did very much for advancing the performance of iceboats in general. Runner alignment, and sharpening, for one, and bendy masts for the other.

Well the cruisers found the ice on Damariscotta, so thanks, men. When I got there on Friday the cruisers were packing up and heading north to some new ice a couple of hours away in Millinockett! Meanwhile, I made phone calls confirming the ice report, solid/bumpy ice. I then made a wonderful discovery of my own, Damariscotta Lake Farm, Bed and Breakfast/Restaurant and Bar, great place, and directly across the road from the launch site! How many years have I been sailing here and not at the least visited the bar!

Everyone arrived good and early as iceboaters should, and there was wind. Bob Crinion arrived from Nova Scotia after an all night solo 8 hour drive, making the Maine State Championships an international event. Sailors from as far south as New York and Maryland as well. NW winds blowing across the lake were a bit gusty/shifty and were backing to the west as the day went on. I am happy that Doug Raymond came to race, good to have at least two Mainers in the MSC. The boys from southern NE came with their speed, so the race was on. I was not up front so I can’t personally describe the action, but I do know that I suggested that we use the Bart rule! The BUMPY ice gave the leader T some problems with runner chock bolts loosening, but that was not enough to slow him down. It was funny to read what he put on the NEIYA site: “The ice was re-frozen snow or something and the ride was BUMPY but that is part of the game, isn’t it? If you didn’t lose any parts from you boat or fillings from your teeth you are set for awhile….” also from the winner: “Very physical sailing with puffs and lulls coming and going very abruptly- Big changes in direction also meant big sheet adjustments all day and lots of throwing weight around in the boat. And plenty of positions gained and lost!

Thanks to everyone who made it- Especially Bob Crinion who made the trip from Nova Scotia to sail with us and Kristin Buckley for keeping score also the generous folks who kindly let us use the launch site.